MINNEAPOLIS— Despite his six seasons and 50 wins As the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, Kirk Cousins is not expecting a warm welcome he returns to US Bank Stadium as Atlanta Falcon this weekend.
“They’re great fans, they’re great football fans, and I think that’s why they’re going to make it as hostile as possible for us,” Cousins said.
The 36-year-old QB signed a deal with the Falcons offseason after he and the Vikings couldn’t agree on a new contract. His old team signed veteran Sam Darnold to replace him and signed as well JJ MCarthy from Michigan in the first round.
Cousins said the crowd reaction won’t be the only strange experience when he returns.
“It’s a familiar place, but at the same time I’ve never – this happened the first time I played in Washington,” he said. So in that sense, I had been to Washington Stadium many times, but I had never been there in that way. I felt a bit like a rookie in that sense. So it will have the same feeling, I assume on Sunday.”
Brian Flores and the Vikings defense will be tasked with containing the man they faced every week in practice. But Cousins said he doesn’t think his experience from last year will do much good come playing time.
“The way they changed their personnel, the way they evolved, the way those players first played the schedule back then. I think a lot of the players who would still be there have so much more experience. also in the plan,” says Cousins. “So for all these reasons, I don’t think you can draw as much as you would like.”
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who played for Cousins the past two seasons and also coached him in Washington, knows what the passer is capable of, even if he looks physically weakened after an Achilles injury that ended his time in Minnesota.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” O’Connell said. “He will be very accurate, he will throw with great timing and rhythm, he will get the ball out and when he does, it will go to the right person. And we have to have an ‘all eleven’ mentality every time .” snap, because he can easily put together the kind of performance where he can get you on the defensive from a coverage standpoint.”
While some may call this a revenge game for Cousins, he says he looks back on this time in Minnesota with only positive thoughts.
“I think the emotion is actually gratitude,” he said. “When you think back, that’s the word that comes to mind: just gratitude. When I got there as a free agent, they took a chance on me, ownership took a chance on me, the organization did too. I think that I just have so many teammates that have given so much to help me, coaches that have given so much to help me, from nutrition to the weight room to equipment to the training room.
Still, he’s hesitant to say too much about the relationships he maintains with people within the Vikings organization given the Falcons’ offseason. punishment for manipulation in signing Cousins.
“I don’t even know the rules regarding tampering these days, do I?” Cousins said. “I have friends in the league on other teams, so I don’t know if friendships are allowed or not. But yeah, I try to deal with people in the league legally, and I don’t know, I guess that’s is illegal to text your friend, then I’m sorry.”
The Vikings and Falcons kick off Sunday at noon.
